Russia ‘tested 16,000mph hypersonic Satan-2 nuclear-capable missile’ while Biden was in Ukraine

But the launch of the missile – capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads – appeared to have failed, officials said. 

US officials believe Putin would have highlighted the success of the test in his address to the nation on Tuesday - just days before the first anniversary of his bloody war in Ukraine.

Sources told CNN they didn't consider the launch to be an escalation as Vlad's invasion continues to put the world on the sharpest knife edge since the Cold War.

The "superweapon" has the potential to obliterate the United Kingdom 1,600 miles away in just six minutes.

Russia previously boasted that the beast can carry 15 warheads and drop multiple nukes in a single terrifying strike. 

And with an operational range of up to 11,180 miles, the deadly missile is reported to have no equivalent in the West in terms of the terror it could unleash. 

It comes after Putin accused the West of trying to start a "global" war and made a veiled nuclear threat in his rambling speech to the nation.

In the near two-hour diatribe, he claimed the very existence of Russia is now at stake - something considered a red line for the Kremlin.

Moscow's nuclear doctrine clearly states their forces can use nuclear weapons when the country's "very existence" is at risk.

Putin issued a further warning to the West by ditching the landmark nuclear arms control treaty.

The New START treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy.

And it controls the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

The Russian leader is also feared to be readying a launch of the Satan-2 missile to coincide with the Kremlin's massive offensive planned in days.

There has only been one definitive test flight of a Satan-2 missile - which happened in April 2022.

But officials in remote districts of Kamchatka, Russia, have been warned to be ready for a test launch of the missile between February 15 and February 25. 

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are said to be gearing up for Putin's push, which will mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Ukrainians are bracing for the new assault that is set to include 1,800 tanks, 3,950 armoured vehicles, 400 fighter jets and 300 helicopters incoming from Russia.

Putin is also gathering 2,700 artillery guns and 810 rocket launchers for the "new wave of attacks", according to .

Meanwhile, Russia's Admiral Gorshkov arrived in South Africa on Wednesday for military drills with China.

The warship - equipped with new generation hypersonic missiles - arrived at the port of Richards Bay, according to Russia's RIA state news agency.

The Gorshkov, which set sail from Russia on January 4, carries the Zircon missiles - which have a range of 900km and can travel at several times the speed of sound.